Behaviour Based Safety And Its Relevance to Work Place Management

In today’s industrial world, the management challenging job, all of us realize as how to get people empowered and involve in both quality and safety functions. For this purpose, QCFI experience in ushering team concepts as a medium for developing people and channelising their efforts towards achieving the objective has become practicable. BBS is a new concept which is widely introduced and practiced. Now let us examine in brief what is BBS For enhancing Sakiy Culture Behaviour Based Safety (BBS) is one of the best safety approach which emphasize participation of workers in the organization by their appropriate involvement in hazard identification, risk assessment and determination of controls How do you achieve BBS? We can accomplish the objective if we train every workmen / employee on the concept and process of behavioural safety. We need to sensitize or promote the concept of BBS among HOD’sand front-line managers. What is the need for BBS: From various safety data based on investigations which indicate 90% or more of the acridenutare due to unsafe behaviours. ‘50%’ of the unsafe behaviours are identified or noticeable at any plant at any given point of time. 25.30% of safety awareness is lacking among employees which gets reflected in their unsafe behaviours. Unsafe behaviours are at the core of any near misses. injury, accidents. If we control unsafe behaviour. we may not even have near misses. So we need to focus our efforts on unsafe & safe behaviour in safety. BBS Secret of success is that safety control is in the hands of each employee they feel empowered and responsible. Methodology BBS is a process of repeatedly going to an employee and making random observations till he reaches safe behaviour and learns the concept of self observation and observing the others for safe performance. Eight aspects that behavioural safety takes care of in order to present unsafe behaviours and promote safe behaviours.

PPE, House Keeping. Using Tools & Equipment’s. Body Positioning /Protecting, Material Handling, Communication, Following Procedures, Visual Focussing With the help of a cheek list BBS trained observers create data on the above eight critical behaviours to guide their observations. Each observer observes atleast one of his co-workers daily. This way safety becomes a daily reminder which in essence builds safety culture. We can almost daily check an increase or decrease in unsafe and safe behaviour by creating the data base. BBS is a data driven decision making process. BBS emphasizes that employees need to take an ownership of their safe as well as unsafe behaviours. If they behave unsafe, they are not punished, instead they are repeatedly told to correct; and when they behave safe, they are encouraged. Both unsafe and safe behaviours are counted and displayed. BBS also discusses the unsafe conditions that influence unsafe behaviours. The author in his experience of various safety audits conducted in Power Plant / Explosives / Chemical Industries have observed that, there is a wide gap between what is documented and practiced. This is also happening in most of the organisations. which are certified for ISO QMS. EMS and OSHAS. But however there is a marked difference in safety culture in organisations which have implemented ‘s-S’ Concept (Work Place Management). This is on account of total employee involvement where education and training in good work place management has been imparted. As everyone knows good housekeeping contributes greatly to efficient operations improved employees moral, reduction of accident hereby improve in better productivity compared to poor work place management where objects / equipment lying out of place in properly stacked material, accumulative of wastes, empty containers / packing materials dusty windows / walls and floors.

This as all of us would appreciate and know from Indian Statistics which show accidents like falling, striking against or slipping on objects, struck by falling bodies constitute over 23% of all industries injuries. Considering the common situations which lead to unsafe practices and unsafe conditions, culture through’s-5s concept should be promoted & implemented across the whole organization.

The author in his experience in explosive industries have found that the documentation of GSD’s sere an important medium for the operators to adhere to safe practices. However, in reality at times there has been deviation in the upkeep as well as in adherence to the practices. In this regard, implementation of 18.8′ (work Place Management) will make involvement of the employees in taking ownership of the Work Areas and thus help promote behavioural / attitudinal transformation. Quality Circle Forum of India (QCFI), Sec’bad has conducted many training programmes and implemented Work Place Management across Cross Section of Industries, viz. Textiles, Cements, Engineering, Chemical & Power Plants. Funkier BBS & 5S put together enhance Safety Performance and auditing tool will become friendly & effective as TEl (Total Employee Involvement) Culture is assured where every employee adhere to Safety System as a part of BBS.